The CliftonStrengths Coaching Blog is a resource for those who want to help others understand their strengths and learn how to use them. Gallup experts and outside contributors share tactics, insights, and strategies to help strengths coaches maximize the talent of individuals, teams, and organizations around the world.

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Friday, April 28, 2017

On a recent Called to Coach, we spoke with Accenture employees and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches, Caroline Dey and Matthew Wexler.

Caroline Dey and Matthew Wexler both work at Accenture, a global consulting firm that has over 400,000 employees. Accenture’s mission is to “Improve the Way the World Works and Lives.” As part of an initiative to achieve their mission, Accenture decided to become a strengths-based organization.

&autoplay=Command leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with imposing your views on others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed, you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by confrontation; rather, you know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life’s unpleasantness, you feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. You need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take risks. You may even intimidate them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance and ask them to move in a certain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to you. You have presence. You have Command.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

On a recent Called to Coach, we spoke with Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Darren Cox.

Darren Cox is a principal at St. Phillips Christian school primary/secondary school. Darren completed the CliftonStrengths assessment and a coaching session during a leadership course. He felt this was the first assessment that really “got him.” It was liberating and encouraging to him. He doesn’t fit the mold of a principal, but he learned that people can do all types of jobs using their strengths. If he benefited, how much could everyone else? So, he had his staff and students take the assessment as well.

&autoplay=People who are especially talented in the Risk talent embrace challenges with enthusiasm. They have a strong, charismatic and confident personality. They naturally focus on the rewards of success instead of potential failure. They emotionally connect with customers and exceed their expectations. They are comfortable with ambiguity and have a highly optimistic perception of risk. When encountering a challenging decision, they take an analytical approach. They meticulously gather information and calculate the odds of success before taking action.

Monday, April 24, 2017

As coaches, the mindset we adopt greatly influences our clients’ attitude toward failure and their ability to achieve transformational results. A big factor in adopting the right mindset is how we approach the difference between talents and strengths. Talents are not the same as strengths. In fact, strengths-based development is all about investing in talents to create strengths. Talents are naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling and behavior that can be productively applied. A strength, on the other hand, is the ability to deliver consistent, near-perfect performance on a given task. But before we can develop talents into strengths, we need to start with the right mindset.

&autoplay=“When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that “there are still some things we don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can’t.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Command is the least likely theme to show up in one’s Top Five. As such, Command tends to be one of the least understood themes of talent, and there is a lot that is misunderstood about Command. Because of this, the basement side – or hindrances – of Command tend to get the most attention, and people want to know how to better manage their Command if it is a dominant theme. People high in Command instinctively take charge, express their opinion, calm the chaos, and give direction. They can inspire and they can intimidate – and both are of those can be positive attributes. As a leader, you want and need to inspire your team to do things they never thought they could; and there are also times you need to intimidate those who would threaten your team. There is a very protective nature to Command; those high in Command will rise up to defend and protect the ones they lead and the ones they love. Command is not afraid to take risks, and not afraid to confront – bringing emotional clarity to and resolving thorny issues.In this installment of Compare and Contrast, I explore the differences and similarities between Command and Woo, Belief, and Self-Assurance.

Friday, April 14, 2017

On a recent Called to Coach, we spoke with Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Alma Hughes.

Alma Hughes is the Vice President of Organizational and Leadership Development at Regions bank. She is a passionate leader creating a strong workplace culture through the use of CliftonStrengths, Gallup’s Q12 employee engagement survey, and other leadership programs. Regions and Gallup have worked together since 2007. At first, Regions only focused on customer engagement, then they moved into employee engagement as part of a larger strategy to improve their workplace. It’s the fifth or sixth year they’ve administered the Q12. They don’t use it just for metrics. They use the results to engage their employees and create a highly productive workplace.

&autoplay=If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic - even spiritual. And, to value responsibility and high ethics — both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction. In your view, success is more than money and prestige. Your values provide direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme, it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Building a brand is one of the most underrated aspects of developing a successful coaching practice. Whether you’re establishing a brand for your business or for your role within a larger organization, you are the product, so it is vital that you understand the importance of establishing a coaching brand that is unique to you. Differentiate YourselfFirst and foremost, start thinking of yourself as a brand, not just as a coach. Coaching is what you do and what you offer to others as a service. But coaching in and of itself is not unique. Your personal branding goal is to define and differentiate how you will be known to the world. To develop a strong brand that attracts, retains and multiplies clients who fuel your business, you don’t have to be a marketing maven or hire a branding expert. You simply have to know who you are, what you believe in, what drives you and how your clients will benefit. This information helps you identify the value you provide, establish your position in the coaching market and develop a brand promise that reflects the experience clients will have if they choose you as their coach.

&autoplay=People who are especially talented in the Selling talent speak boldly on behalf of their company. They consistently communicate a clear vision of their business to customers and employees. They are great salespeople with an ability to form deep relationships and convince others to follow their well-defined business growth strategy.Selling’s power and edge stems from communication. They communicate the essence of the business, their idea, or their new product or service through stories. They are excellent communicators and easily influence others. They are incredibly persuasive and are great salespeople for the business.

Monday, April 10, 2017

“Okay, are we done talking about this? Let’s get moving.” If you have Activator in your Top Five, you probably have said this more than once – maybe weekly (or more often) in your team meetings. Activators tend to live by the motto that the worst action to take is no action. Those strong in Activator talents learn by doing, and they bring energy to most any situation that needs a boost. Activator is energized by starting, but usually not so much by finishing. In fact, those high in Activator may get bored half way through a project and look around for something else to get started. Getting things moving, getting the ball rolling, setting things in motion – these are all common characteristics of the Activator theme.In this installment of Compare and Contrast, I look at the similarities and differences between Activator and Command, Ideation, and Woo.

Friday, April 7, 2017

On a recent Called to Coach, we spoke with Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Kelley Wacher.

Anne Lingafelter, Gallup Consultant, announces the kick-off of the Gallup Student Poll in Australia today. Anne interviews Kelley Wacher, a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and the Founder of Corporate Magic, a boutique consultancy firm specializing in transformational training, executive coaching, and professional and personal development. Kelley chose the name of her company after she discovered CliftonStrengths. Her company is about helping her clients create magic by giving them knowledge about themselves, mostly through CliftonStrengths. Kelley uses CliftonStrengths in conjunction with other coaching and assessment tools. Kelley compares and contrasts the DiSC personality test with CliftonStrengths and discusses how she uses them both in her trainings.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

In the past decade, the role of a manager has evolved rapidly. A managerial role, once reserved for those with specialized knowledge in a field or industry, is now demanding expertise in human development. While some managers adapt to this demand skillfully, others stagnate, wondering how best to manage a diverse, likely remote workforce.Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, released in early 2017, revealed an area of opportunity for managers: coaching.A vast majority of employees -- 91% -- say the last time they switched jobs, they left their current employer to do so. Think about that. Nearly every person who wanted a new opportunity left their company to find it -- costing the company in lost productivity and onboarding expenses, among others. What does that say about our jobs, about our managers, about our ability to foster growth in individuals and teams? Perhaps this is strong evidence that many people leaders are failing to present a compelling vision for the future.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Values. Ethics. Right and Wrong. Altruism. If you have Belief in your Top Five, these are words that are very likely part of your vocabulary or their definitions seem to fit you “like a glove.” People high in Belief are seen as dependable, because others know where they stand; they are driven to act on their values, and take a stand when a value is at stake. The most important aspect of life if one has strong Belief is staying true to one’s values. For Belief, work has to matter – it’s more than making widgets. My father once told me there are two ways to look at work: one way is to see the income you make from your job as the way you can make a difference in the world; the other way is to see your job as the way you make your difference in the world. Those high in Belief talents more often than not see work in light of the second option.In this installment of Compare and Contrast, I look at the differences and similarities between Belief and Maximizer, Significance, and Achiever.